I am getting a little worried that we have too many bottles of wine to consume before we fly back to Brisbane. And yesterday’s activities did not lessen my anxiety.
First stop was Forest Hill Vineyard.
Mick and I had never been here before, and we happened to be the first customers – (yes we were eager to get to work). But not for long: a group of seven others arrived shortly after us and the ‘host’ decided to treat us as one big group. There were 10 wines available for tasting as listed on the order form, plus a further three ‘special’ wines that had been discovered hidden in the winery that they needed to ‘shift’.
Pinot noir grapes are the only grapes grown on this site, and at the moment, no wine is made from those grapes. The fruit they use is from vineyards they own in Mount Barker. We were told that many of the vines were originally planted as an experiment by the Government following the crash in the export market to the UK of apples and pears, previously the dominant crops and income source in the region, prior to the UK joining the EU (which of course it has now left!!). We had heard a similar story when we were in Tasmania.
But grapes are what they have now in this region, and it appears to be working very well for them. Forest Hill Vineyard makes all its wines and it also makes wines for other growers in the region. The operation looked huge. This year is set to be the biggest vintage in history. Grapes were going to be picked tomorrow, and then they will be transported by truck the 40+ kilometres to the winery for processing.
The ‘three amigos’ tasting the wines here enjoyed quite a few, but they were under strict orders not to buy too much (refer to my first paragraph). They agreed on a 2020 Vineyard Chardonnay and the 2021 Vineyard Shiraz.
I was happy to ‘snap’ these beautiful blossoms of a WA gum tree. None of us had seen anything like this before. But a little research showed it to be a Flowering Gum Dwarf Orange.
Next stop was the very pretty cellar door of Singlefile Wines.
The young girl who took the ‘tasters’ through the wines made for Singlefile Wines was very knowledgeable and all three enjoyed the rosé (made from Sangiovese) and the cabernet merlot blend. I had wanted to buy a bottle of the Clement V which we had tried on our first visit, but that was sold out.
We were then under strict orders from Edward to try the Premium Chardonnay at Rockcliffe.
As we approached the cellar door, we spotted the nets being removed from the vines in readiness for picking tomorrow.
The man at the cellar door looked a lot like this fellow featured in the large photograph – Dr Stephen Hall – Rockcliffe Estate CEO. He was his brother – also a doctor, but not a geologist like Stephen, rather an MD. And he was a bit shocked that we were there to taste only one wine.
We told him there were only two people tasting – Derek and Mick. But he got 3 glasses ready as he said he had been waiting for someone to ask to taste it so that he could as well.
Mick and Derek thought that the was amazing – and it was agreed that a bottle would be purchased for the four of us to share tonight. As we were not going out for a meal, and eating rather simply, we felt we could justify the investment in a very special Denmark wine.
After lunch, which were delicious pies from one of the local bakeries, we headed out to Willoughby Estate and Boston Brewery to taste some more wines.
Thank goodness this was more of a brewery than a winery, and while they did have cases and bottles of wines out for sale, they were not available for tasting.
So we decided we had enough wines and I left a little less concerned about our stash.
During the evening, we opened this wine we had purchased at Rockcliffe, and very much enjoyed the treat. While it may have cost more than we usually spend on a bottle of wine, we decided that while we were here, we should at least try some of the best Denmark has to offer.
Helen voted it the best chardonnay she had tried on this trip. While Derek, although he had enjoyed the tasting earlier in the day, did not like it as much.
But, that could have been because he had just had a glass of cider beforehand!!
My walk this morning through the Karri Trail Walk was beautiful. There was a slight drizzling of rain, but the forest canopy kept me pretty dry.
Our destination for tonight is Beedelup.
Yes, that is a place.
And despite there being no winery stops on our agenda for today, there will be lots to see and enjoy.
Jane and Mick's Holiday Adventures 
It must be assumed that you’re building a new house/ apartment simply to store wine! How many bottles a night does Michael drink?!
No comment. 😳🤔
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